October: Passionate Pursuits, Flow States, Tacos, and Counter Culture

Pumpkins. Sweet Potatoes. Candles. Fuzzy Socks. Dark Coffee. Darker mornings. October is in full swing, and the little yellow leaves outside my bedroom window are falling to the ground. The past few weeks have been hectic — packed with two big running races and a trip to visit friends in Denver. But, now, as the days get shorter and night comes sooner, it is officially time to rest and restore the body and mind. OR at least find some solid distractions.

The following articles, films, and ideas highlight people and adventurers who are passionate about their sports and pursuits. Here’s your monthly dose of what I’m finding interesting:

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Films:

  • This Mountain Life: This documentary is totally incredible and is 100% worth a watch. It follows the journeys of several mountain gurus: a mother-daughter team who trek from Vancouver to Alaska, an expedition team who encounter a treacherous avalanche in BC, and a mountain climber who believes that the “human body was designed to be used really hard for two or three days at a time, and then rested.” My friend Mark told me about it and texted me “OMG OMG OMG” when he found out that it was available to stream. Go watch!

  • Three short films and trailers you should peak at:

  • The Mapmaker: My friend Lauren posted this 8-minute video on her instagram story, and I also found it worth sharing! It’s a pretty rad piece about choice and following your flow.

Hiking in Colorado with friends.

Hiking in Colorado with friends.

Podcasts:

  • YETI Drifting:

    • Being at Home and In Touch With the Land by Dan Malloy: Dan Malloy is a badass surfer, filmmaker, and Patagonia ambassador. In this podcast, he suggests that we need to teach kids how to come home, build communities, and live off of the land. Minutes 29-35 are especially wonderful if you are short on time.

    • Sharkbites, night swimming, and advice from the Pope with Mike Spalding: Mike is one of two humans on earth to swim all nine channels of the Hawaiian islands. He is one of the most rad 72-year-olds out there, and in this episode, he recounts stories of jellyfish forests and daring swims in Hawaii.

    • Jimmy Chin on Optimism and Growing Up: I super enjoyed this pod with JImmy Chin, an exceptionally creative and talented photographer, alpinist, and filmmaker. Jimmy’s passion is absolutely contagious. One of the most relatable and self-reflective things he says in this episode is “i was certainly not the best climber. I guess my skill was putting the teams together…having the vision for the expeditions and being able to document the people around me who were much more talented as climbers. But I could hang. Another skill that I have is that I can suffer.” I love that he is able to recognize where his strengths lie and that he counts his ability to suffer as one of the most important skills he has. Definitely relatable.

Ideas:

  • Flow Hacks: This month, I’ve been really into flow hacks. Jeremy Jensen, a mountain athlete and entrepreneur, writes that life should be about feeling alive “I mean really alive. You know, that feeling of absolute stoke and utter absorption into the present moment, when everything else fades away and all that’s left is an overwhelming feeling of joy, excitement, and meaning.” He says that the reason most people aren’t able to reach their full flow is because they are “living in a world that others have created for them.” I LOVE that thought, and believe that we should all do a little less conforming and a little more storming. Read more about flow hacks here.

  • Are Burritos Just Tacos in Disguise? On a scale of one to important, this is important. Read this article and let me know your thoughts on whether burritos are masquerading as tacos. My personal inclination is that, no, burritos are not tacos. Prove me wrong!

  • The Eternal Sunshine of Harry Styles: To be honest, I thought Harry Styles was a Jonas Brother until I read this article. I read it while I was waiting to get a haircut and didn’t have my phone on hand. I thought that the author did such an amazing job capturing this young artist and his counter-culture approach to life that I fired off an email to the author to tell him how much I enjoyed the piece. It was such an inside look into a current star’s life.

  • Meditation and Planet Gazing: This month, one of my best friends, Hayley, invited me to go to The Big Quiet. The Big Quiet is a mass meditation movement. We meditated with 500 other people beneath the bones of the dinosaurs at the field museum and then caught some live music performances after. it was EPIC and I felt like I lost control of my body for a few moments to the sea of people. I highly encourage you to check out this movement and catch it in a city near you. I also went to the Planetarium’s Adler After Dark for Sarah’s birthday, and saw Saturn’s “tiny” rings through a telescope. I am forever a different human.

  • Is the Millenial Urban Lifestyle in Jeopardy? I was shocked to learn that if you “wake up on a Casper mattress, work out on a Peleton before breakfast, Uber to your desk at WeWork, order DoorDash for lunch, take a Lyft home, and get dinner through Postmates, you’ve interacted with seven companies that will collectively lose nearly $14 billion this year.” EEEP. This article definitely offered some food for thought.

  • Coffee Mugs with Boobs: Yes, this is all.

  • The Man Behind the Maps: This article celebrates mountain artist, James Niehues, whose work you’ve definitely seen if you’ve been to a ski resort in the US. Check it out.

Mass Meditation at the Chicago Field Museum for The Big Quiet.

Mass Meditation at the Chicago Field Museum for The Big Quiet.

Music:

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back in soon or pass this along to a friend.